Skip the line, pay some court costs online

North Carolina courts are continuing to drive down traffic in the courthouse by allowing more fees to be paid online.

Court costs, fines and fees for most criminal and infraction cases can now be paid online, including cases with CR, CRS, IF or IFS in the file number, according to a press release Thursday.

That includes most supervised probation cases with convictions after Jan. 1, 2011 and most other cases in those categories with convictions after Jan. 1, 2015.

Onslow County District Court has already seen half a dozen cases paid online, according to Assistant Clerk Cindy Casteen.

Some days, the number of people who come in to pay court fees can reach more than 200, Casteen said, and having an online option will cut that number down.

That helps the mothers who won’t have to take their kids with them to the courthouse, Casteen said, and reduces the number of people coming through security at the front door. Residents won’t need to take time off work.

“The aggravation of standing in line, I think that will be somewhat eliminated,” she said. “It’s going to be very beneficial for the public.”

It will also be beneficial to the clerks, Casteen said. When someone pays at the courthouse, clerks leave their daily work to help the person at the window.

The online payment systems, which are being updated constantly, focus on reducing traffic inside the courthouse without increasing the workload.

Since the online payment system launched on May 31, more than 3,300 supervised and unsupervised probation payments have been collected, according to the release, and 45 percent of those have been received after hours, which shows the welcomed convenience from those using it.

Payments require a Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express credit or debit card to use and a convenience fee is charged with each online payment. The county and file number are required and the maximum amount that can be paid online is $2,500. Pay online at onlineservices.NCcourts.org.